Antelope HMA: 344 horses removed — here’s what happened next →

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) “emergency” roundup outside the Antelope Herd Management Area has now concluded. Below are the final outcomes that our team of observers witnessed:

• 344 wild horses were captured: 131 stallions, 147 mares, 66 foals
• Three deaths occurred during the course of these removals — including a yearling who suffered a fatal neck fracture at the trap site.

However, and equally disturbing story has begun now that this roundup has concluded. 

In the days following this removal, our Investigations Team documented a dramatic expansion of listings on the BLM’s Sale Authority website — growing from roughly 40 pages to nearly 70, many featuring horses under five years old. 

Under federal law, horses can enter the Sale Authority if they are over 10 years old or have been offered unsuccessfully for adoption three times. But when emergency roundups rapidly increase the number of horses entering the system, more animals are pushed through this pipeline faster — reducing transparency and increasing the long-term risk to these federally protected horses.

At the same time, federal officials continue advancing a goal of placing 20,000 horses per year into adoption or sale channels, while rapidly scaling the online corral system to move animals faster.

That raises a serious question: Has the government demonstrated that humane placement capacity exists before accelerating removals? Meredith, precedent tells us the answer is no.

When removals outpace real demand, the risks to these horses grow. And as more animals are funneled into Sale Authority, federal safeguards fall away.

This is not sustainable management. It is a slaughter pipeline.

We will not stay silent as “emergency” roundups feed a system that cannot responsibly sustain the volume being removed.

This is exactly why we launched our Hold the Line campaign — to push back when “emergency” becomes a shortcut and to ensure wild horses are protected by law, not processed by quota. Stand with us, Meredith. Demand transparency, accountability, and real checks before more horses are taken.

Thank you,

AWHC Team